Parliament speaker Talakvadze visits US, explains benefits of proportional voting in Georgian elections
Archil Talakvadze became the parliament speaker of Georgia last month. He left for the US on his first official visit in the new role. Photo: Parliament press office.
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Georgian Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze, who has recently been elected to the role, is visiting the United States on his first official trip, where he said that the proportional voting system, put forward by the Georgian Dream ruling party, will increase the legitimacy of the government and help stability in the country.
He made the statement at the US Congress Democratic Partnership Leaders Forum late yesterday, where he delivered a speech on Georgian democratic reforms.
The Georgian parliamentary delegation is in the US. Photo: Parliament's press office.
Talakvadze said that Georgia adopted constitutional changes in 2018, “which are crucial for democracy in our country.”
Now, Georgia is a parliamentary republic. It was not easy to transfer from the super-presidential to a stable parliamentary republic. The previous model did not ensure the balance in state institutions. The reform we carried out increased the role of parliament and ensured the balance the state needed,” Talakvadze said.
Talakvadze also spoke about the Georgian occupied territories, saying that the “occupation is temporary.”
The Georgian Dream ruling party accepted the proportional voting system for the upcoming, 2020 parliamentary elections amid rallies in Tbilisi.
The country was otherwise to have moved to the proportional representation system starting 2024.
All 100 legislators of the Georgian Dream ruling party are ready to support proportional voting system in the 2020 parliamentary elections. However, the change, which has been long demanded by the opposition, requires at least 113 votes in the 150-member parliament, General Secretary of the Georgian Dream ruling party Kakha Kaladze said earlier today.
Archil Talakvadze, 36, a leader of the Georgian Dream ruling party majority, has been elected a new chairperson of the legislative body after the resignation of Irakli Kobakhidze on June 21.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze says that after 2020 parliamentary elections the county may have a coalition government, as, for the first time, the race is likely to take place with the proportional electoral system with a zero threshold.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze has told more than 500 foreign and local guests at the Tbilisi International Conference that no foreign country is happy to see its parliament stormed by protestors, commenting on the June 20-21 rallies in central Tbilisi.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze paid an official visit to Montenegro on October 8-10. During the visit Talakvadze held meetings with Montenegrin President Milo Dukanovic, Parliament Speaker Ivan Brajović and other high-ranking officials.
The Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, Archil Talakvadze will visit the United States with the Parliamentary Delegation on February 5-10.